dust Archives

This close-up image of a dust storm on Mars was acquired by the Mars Color Imager instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Nov. 7, 2007, around 3 p.m. local time on Mars. Scientists working with NASA's Curiosity rover, which is set to land on Mars on Aug. 5 PDT (Aug. 6 EDT), are monitoring Mars each day for similar small storms that could either drift over the landing site or stir up dust that moves as haze over the site. Larger image

Martian Dust Storms May Ggenerate Atmospheric Electrical Conditions That Could Impact Mars Missions

by Keith CowingJuly 2, 2026July 2, 2026

[UAH] A new study by a doctoral researcher at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of The University of Alabama System, suggests global dust storms on Mars […]

An artist's rendering of Europa and Jupiter based on images sent by visiting spacecraft. Europa is the closest orbiting of the three Jupiter’s large ‘Galilean’ moons to be visited by Juice – any human astronaut that lands there would receive a lethal radiation dose on a timescale of hours. And spacecraft electronics are almost as susceptible to radiation as human biology. CREDIT NASA/JPL-Caltech

Europa, Meteorites & Asteroids, Origin & Evolution of Life, Panspermia, Planetary Protection & Biosafety, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

Earth As A Potential Source Of Llife For Europa’s Subsurface Ocean

by Keith CowingJune 22, 2026June 21, 2026

The paper discusses the possibility of dust particles containing living bacteria ejected from Earth reaching Europa and landing on its surface.

Panels (a)–(o) show contour maps of the observed isophotes (black lines) together with the corresponding modelled isophotes (red lines) for the case 𝑟max = 1 cm. For each of these contour panels, a companion plot is displayed to the right, labelled (a′ )–(o′ ), showing a one-dimensional scan extracted along the direction indicated by the straight red line in the corresponding contour map. In these primed panels, the black and red curves represent the observed and modeled brightness profiles, respectively. The 𝑥- and 𝑦-axes in the contour plots are given in pixel units, and the innermost isophote levels as well as the physical dimensions of each image are listed in Tables 1 and 3. In panels (a)–(o), isophote levels increase outward in steps of 1 mag. In the primed panels, the 𝑥-axis is expressed in pixel units and the 𝑦-axis in surface brightness units (mag arcsec−2). -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Astronomy & Telescopes, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Interstellar, Status Report

Dust Colour, Phase Behaviour, And Monte Carlo Modelling Of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS From 4 au Pre- to 4 au Post-Perihelion

by Keith CowingJune 19, 2026June 19, 2026

We report multi-band photometric imaging observations and Monte Carlo dust tail modelling of the interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS covering a wide range of heliocentric distances, from about 4 au pre-perihelion to […]

Spatial distribution of dynamically active regions, defined as grid cells exceeding a velocity threshold of 0.3 m s−1 , accumulated over the full simulation period and vertically integrated by altitude. -- astro-ph.EP

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Desert Worlds, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Mars, Status Report

Global Evolution Of Electric Fields During Planet Encircling Dust Storms On Mars

by Keith CowingMay 15, 2026May 15, 2026

Planet-encircling dust storms fundamentally reshape Martian weather and the near-surface electrostatic environment.

The formation mechanism of the lower haze. Cosmic dust entering from space is incorporated into sulfuric acid clouds. As sulfuric acid evaporates at the cloud base, the dust particles remain and coagulate to form the lower haze. ©Hiroki Karyu et al.

Astrochemistry, Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Status Report, Venus

Cosmic Dust Identified As The Source Of Venus’ Enigmatic Lower Haze

by Keith CowingApril 17, 2026April 17, 2026

Venus, often called Earth’s twin, is in fact a planet of extremes. Beneath its thick carbon dioxide atmosphere lie crushing surface temperatures and dense clouds of sulfuric acid. While the […]

Stacked images of 3I/ATLAS acquired by HiRIC CMOS camera onboard Tianwen-1 spacecraft (upper row) and the corresponding 1/ρ divided images (lower row) from the three epochs. All images are displayed north up and east to the left. The stacked images are displayed with logarithmic brightness stretch, and the enhanced images are displayed with a linear brightness stretch. The arrows in the upper panels mark the projected directions of the Sun and the heliocentric velocity vector. The scalebars are 10,000 km. The bright star trails are visible in each stack due to the apparent movement of 3I in the sky background during each 30-second observation epoch. -- astro-ph.EP

Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Observed from Mars by China’s Tianwen-1 Spacecraft

by Keith CowingMarch 14, 2026March 14, 2026

China’s Tianwen-1 Mars orbiter successfully imaged the third interstellar object, 3I/ATLAS, during its close encounter with Mars using the onboard HiRIC CMOS camera. This is China’s first deep-space observation of […]

(Left) Predicted concretion diameter for different nucleation density scaling exponents α. For α ≤ 1, diffusion controls at the Mars dust grain size and predictions match observations (green band). For α ≥ 1.5, nucleation dominates even at 3 µm, predicting concretions well below the observed range, ruled out by the data. (Right) Crossover grain size as a function of α (log scale). Green region: diffusion-limited zone (crossover above Mars dust at 3 µm). Pink region: nucleation-limited zone. The graincontact derivation (dotted line, α = 1) sits within the diffusion-limited zone, consistent with observations. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrogeology, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Mars, Status Report

Martian Concretion Sizes Predicted From Two Independently Constrained Inputs: Atmospheric Dust Grain Size And Obliquity-forced Wetting Duration

by Keith CowingMarch 13, 2026March 13, 2026

Diagenetic concretions have been identified at multiple widely separated sites on Mars, including Meridiani Planum (Opportunity), Gale crater (Curiosity), and Jezero crater (Perseverance).

Integrated intensity (moment 0) maps of the detected species. From left to right, HDO, CH3OH in Band 6 and CH3OH in Band 5. For each image, the ellipse in the bottom left shows the size of the ALMA beam and in the bottom right, the direction of the Sun and comet trail are signaled with the corresponding arrows. The white cross marks the location of the comet nucleus. -- astro-ph.EP

Astrochemistry, Astronomy & Telescopes, Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biochemistry & Organic Chemistry, Biophysics, Biosignatures & Paleobiology, Comets and Asteroids, Icy Worlds, Imaging & Spectroscopy, Status Report, Water/Hycean Worlds & Oceanography

A Direct View of the Chemical Properties of Water from Another Planetary System: Water D/H in 3I/ATLAS

by Keith CowingMarch 11, 2026March 11, 2026

All detected water reservoirs in the solar system exhibit a deuterium enrichment that links back to the physical environment at the time of stellar birth.

Perseverance confirmed a long-suspected phenomenon in which electrical discharges and their associated shock waves can be born within Red Planet mini-twisters.

Atmospheres, Climate, Weather, Biogeochemical Cycles & Geobiology, Desert Worlds, Magnetic Fields, Electromagnetism, bioelectricity,, Mars, Missions & Hardware, Press Release, Robotics/Rovers/UAVs

Electric Sparks Detected By Perseverance In Mars Dust Devils And Storms

by Keith CowingDecember 3, 2025December 3, 2025

NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has recorded the sounds of electrical discharges —sparks — and mini-sonic booms in dust devils on Mars. Long theorized, the phenomenon has now been confirmed through […]

When a meteoroid shook the edge of Apollinaris Mons on Mars, it triggered streaks that carved a hundred new scratches on the surface. The European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter captured these dust avalanches on the slopes the night before Christmas in 2023. -- ESA

Mars, Status Report

Origins Of Streak Features On Mars

by Keith CowingNovember 6, 2025November 6, 2025

This image from the Colour and Stereo Surface Imaging System (CaSSIS) onboard the European orbiter also shows the faint cluster of impact craters in the discoloured region at the base […]

dust

Martian Dust Storms May Ggenerate Atmospheric Electrical Conditions That Could Impact Mars Missions

Earth As A Potential Source Of Llife For Europa’s Subsurface Ocean

Dust Colour, Phase Behaviour, And Monte Carlo Modelling Of Interstellar Comet 3I/ATLAS From 4 au Pre- to 4 au Post-Perihelion

Global Evolution Of Electric Fields During Planet Encircling Dust Storms On Mars

Cosmic Dust Identified As The Source Of Venus’ Enigmatic Lower Haze

Interstellar Object 3I/ATLAS Observed from Mars by China’s Tianwen-1 Spacecraft

Martian Concretion Sizes Predicted From Two Independently Constrained Inputs: Atmospheric Dust Grain Size And Obliquity-forced Wetting Duration

A Direct View of the Chemical Properties of Water from Another Planetary System: Water D/H in 3I/ATLAS

Electric Sparks Detected By Perseverance In Mars Dust Devils And Storms

Origins Of Streak Features On Mars

White Paper On Phototrophic Biosignatures: Research Priorities For The Search For Life On Other Worlds

Autonomous AI-Cosmoindustry and the Quiet Expansion Filter: A Threshold-Based Resolution of the Fermi Paradox

A Scalable Path to Astrometric Exomoon Discoveries with the Nautilus Space Observatory

20 Years Later: The ALH 84001 Debate in Context with Viking’s Results. Lessons Learned and Portals Opened

Ocean Planet Research: 31 New Species Discovered in Two Weeks of Deep Sea Exploration